Commissioners debate state solar-siting draft that could limit local rules and affect farmland

Commission members spent an extended portion of the meeting discussing a draft state bill staff described as likely to preempt many local solar-siting rules.

A commissioner summarized key elements staff has seen in drafts: a limit that would prevent counties from imposing setbacks greater than 50 feet (overriding the county's recently adopted 200-foot setback), elimination of local acreage caps (the county's 2,000-acre cap could be preempted), and creation of two-mile-wide corridors adjacent to major high-voltage transmission lines with differing ag-preservation payment requirements inside and outside those corridors.

"They're going to preempt that totally," one commissioner said, urging the commission to prepare for the change. Staff warned some clauses in the draft appear to distinguish preserved farmland inside priority areas and would set differing contribution levels (for example, staff said they saw draft language that would require a payment as low as $500 per acre inside certain corridors and $5,000 per acre outside). Staff also noted the draft allows contractual arrangements and pilot taxes that could interact with local fiscal terms.

Commissioners raised potential consequences for agriculture, property values and decommissioning costs, and asked staff to produce a county map and additional analysis. Staff said they will prepare educational materials for landowners, compile questions for the state draft, and form a solar task force to coordinate the county's response. Several participants repeatedly characterized larger-scale project rumors (including an unverified claim that an entity might seek 20,000 acres) as unconfirmed information the county is monitoring.

There was no formal vote on solar policy at the meeting; the discussion was preparatory and advisory.